Feels Like Tonight
by Phantom Creedy Lover
Summary: Twoshot. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be the one on the operating table. He was supposed to take a bullet for Neal, not the other way around. He failed Neal. No one could tell Peter differently. Peter/El, Peter/Neal, Neal/Julianna.
1. I Have Failed You This Time

**A/N: Another twoshot for me here. Peter's pretty OOC in this, but maybe not. You totally know if something happened to Neal or Peter, the other would be totally lost, so anyways… ahem. Anyways, this is Peter/Elizabeth, Neal/Julianna (blonde woman in "The Portrait") and Peter/Neal a.k.a Petal/Peal/Neter, whatever you call it, and whichever way you wish to see their relationship.**

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Peter Burke didn't quite remember what had happened in the last couple of minutes. He barely even heard the sirens of the ambulance a few feet away. Almost everything had just come crashing down minutes before. He felt like what had occurred was his fault, and there was no way anyone could tell him different.

The day started like any other. Peter, Lauren, and Jones were off on some case that Neal tagged along for. Peter decided not to fight him about it and let him go. He never knew he'd regret it. They found the con that was stealing from various people, and Jones had begun to lead him to the car. What no one else counted on however, was the suspect twisting his way free of Jones grip- and getting the agent's gun.

The next few moments were a blur for Peter. The suspect aimed for Peter when the man's back was turned. Lauren yelled a warning. A gunshot went off. As Peter turned towards the sound, something big and jet-black crossed his path. Peter braced himself for a ripping pain. Jones tackled the suspect to the ground and smacked the gun a few good feet away. When no pain came to him, Peter cautiously opened one eye. Where the Hell was Neal? He didn't hear Neal panicking in any way, or even a remark about the man's lack of shooting. That was when he remembered the thing that crossed his path. That shade of black seemed oddly familiar. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. The suit Neal was wearing that day was that color. His head snapped in the direction that the blur had gone, and his heart just about stopped. Neal was lying on the floor, face up, and there was a puncture wound in his shirt, by his stomach. "Oh God, Neal?! NEAL!" As he dove to the ground to examine his friend, the previous events replayed in his mind, and another realization hit him:

Neal Caffrey had taken a bullet for him.

Neal lifted his head slowly. "Bet… betcha never thought I'd… ever do that, huh?"

Peter let out a relieved sigh that ended up being a half laugh. "No."

Neal attempted to smirk, but it turned to a grimace of pain. "I… finally surprise the mighty Peter Burke."

Peter huffed. "Damn you, Neal!"

Neal frowned. "You damn me… after I save your life?!"

Peter shed his jacket and pressed it to Neal's stomach, where blood was finally coming from. "Shut up. Don't talk. Save your energy."

Neal let out an extremely weak laugh. "You do care, Pete."

Peter wanted to cry then and there. He had heard Neal scared once before, he had heard him drugged, and he had heard Neal make the dumbest comments imaginable. Never once had he heard the man so weak, so… _broken_. His friend was no longer invincible. However, it was the comment just made him that tore him to pieces. "Of course I care, Neal. Always have… well, I've cared lately, at least. You just took a bullet for me. How can I _not_ care?"

"You gotta… funway' showin' it,"

'You've got a funny way of showing it' Peter mentally translated. He wanted to smack and hug Neal all at once. "I told you to shut up, Neal. Take it easy, just don't fall asleep.

"Gonna be hard." Neal choked out. "Hurts. Cold. So tired."

"Then shut up, it'll hurt less." Peter didn't mean for it to come out the way it sounded. Like he was mad. He moved his hand to Neal's shoulder ever so slightly, and his heart just about broke more when Neal took his opposite hand and put it over Peter's. If Neal had interpreted it as nasty as Peter thought it came out, Peter knew he was for. "We're gonna get you help." He turned around, "We need an ambulance NOW!"

Lauren pointed at her phone as if to say it was already being done. She looked only slightly less broken up than Peter did. Jones was to busy shoving the suspect into one of the cars to show his expression

Peter turned his attention back to Neal, who looked even paler than he was- which was impossible to begin with. He gently moved Neal's head to his thigh to support it. "Just hang in there. Help's on the way."

"And if I don't make it?."

The new side of Neal was scaring the shit out of the agent. He wanted it to stop, but he knew that wasn't going to happen soon. He just kept a hand on Neal's shoulder and murmured reassurances for a while. That was, until he noticed Neal had stopped blinking, as far apart as his blinking was after that. "Neal… NEAL! Stay with me!" He smacked the man's cheek, which made the man open his eyes wide.

"Tired." Neal murmured, shutting them again.

"I know, Neal. You just… can't sleep now." Peter took Neal's jaw in hand and tapped it to get Neal's attention again.

"But-" Neal objected.

"No 'but's, Neal. You just can't. You can sleep… later." Peter just prayed it wasn't a permanent sleep. He shuddered at the thought, then let out a relieved sigh when he heard sirens of an oncoming ambulance. "Just a little longer, Neal. You'll be okay."

Neal let out a small moan in response.

Peter clenched his jaw and put his hand on Neal's forehead, pushing his hair back. He knew it wasn't that much of a comforting gesture, but what else could he do? A couple of minutes later, the ambulance pulled up and EMTs came running out. They got Neal situated on a gurney, then loaded him into the ambulance. Peter followed and went to step inside, but one of the EMTs put up a warning hand. "Sir, he's… we can't let you… you'll… you can't come… it's…"

Peter finished the step he was in the middle of taking and stepped up to the man. "Try and stop me." He snarled. "He's my partner. I'm not leaving him."

The EMT went to object, but Neal called Peter's name. Peter shot the EMT a look and took out his badge, jabbing his finger at the line with his name on it. He snapped it shut again and shoved it back into his pocket, then tilted his head, waiting for a response.

The EMT licked his lips, then nodded in understanding. "Just… try and stay out of the way as much as possible."

Peter didn't like the last bit, but like the EMT, he understood the other person's position. "Deal." He slid over to the furthest bench of the vehicle, sat, and did the only thing he could do: wait.

The ride to the hospital took a few minutes, but it seemed like it was hours, or days. Once they got there and wheeled Neal out, Peter hopped out and went over to the sidewalk, where a grate was. His stomach couldn't take it any more. Of all the gruesome things he had seen on training and current cases, it was seeing Neal with a bullet in his mid section that set him off and caused him to vomit. It wasn't just that. Neal's heart had stopped once in the ambulance. The second he saw an EMT get the jaws of life, Peter had to squeeze his eyes shut and look away. The EMT who had challenged him had shot Peter a 'told you so' look before going into action to revive the ex con. Thankfully, they succeeded. After he knew the moment had passed, Peter went into the hospital, into the bathroom, cleaned himself up, and headed for the emergency room waiting room.

More thoughts berated him once he was there. Of all those times Neal had nearly been shot, hurt, blown up, drugged, why did it have to be the time he took a bullet for him that Neal really took damage? It just wasn't fair. He attempted to sit, but the attempt was futile. He took to pacing, not noticing the middle-aged woman in the corner watching him.

"Son, daughter? Brother, sister? Friend?"

Peter looked at the woman, finally noticing her. "Huh?"

"Who you're here for. Is he your child, sibling or friend?" the woman rephrased the question.

Peter sighed. "Friend, but he might as well be my son… or brother, depending on the day." He wanted to add 'and what crimes he commits', but he figured that was too much information.

The woman nodded. "Must be rough."

Peter snorted. "It always is with Neal." He was silent, then realized stopping it there would be rude. What would Elizabeth say? "Who are you here for?"

"My son, too. He got into a car accident and was hurt fairly badly."

"I'm sorry." Peter murmured.

The woman nodded. "Thank you. What is yours here in this dreadful place for?"

"He… he took a bullet for me." Peter replied. The words sounded awful coming out of his mouth. He caught the look of mixed horror and confusion on the woman's face. "Don't worry, we're not criminals. I'm an F.B.I agent, he's a consultant. He's my partner on the force."

"Oh." The woman nodded.

Peter smiled weakly, then glanced up as a nurse came by. He hated the grin the nurse had on her face. It was too… happy to be one for an emergency room nurse.

"Mrs. Ryan, you can see your son now." The nurse told the woman.

"Thank you." Mrs. Ryan replied, standing up. She went over to Peter and offered her hand. "Nice to have met you. Good luck with your partner, Mr…?"

"Burke. Peter Burke." Peter replied, shaking her hand.

"Sonia Ryan." She replied.

Peter nodded. "Go let your son see his mom."

The woman smiled warmly, then followed the nurse out of the room.

Peter watched her, then the smile faded and he went back to pacing. Within a few minutes, Elizabeth showed up in the waiting room door. "Peter?"

Peter looked up. "El!"

Elizabeth hurried over to him and hugged him. "Thank God. I saw you getting into an ambulance on the news and I thought something happened to you. Are you okay? Where's Neal?" She pulled away.

"I'm fine, El. And Neal… well… uh…" How would he break the news to her? She loved him like a son. "He uh… he… he took a bullet for me, El." _Way to tell her slowly, Peter_. He scolded himself.

Elizabeth's hands flew to her mouth and her eyes instantly teared up. "Oh my god. Where?!"

Peter opened his mouth, and then shut it. He couldn't talk about it anymore. He pointed at his stomach.

Elizabeth let out another gasp, then wrapped her arms around him.

Peter hugged her back, then let out a shuddering breath he didn't even know he was holding. Before he knew it, he was actually crying. "I don't… I don't think he's gonna make it, El. He lost so much blood, and in the ambulance…" he stopped himself. She couldn't know that bit of information. He collapsed back into the chair.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be the one on the operating table, now. He was the one who as supposed to take a bullet for Neal, not the other way around. He couldn't help feeling like he had failed the young man.

Elizabeth sat beside him. "Well, it's Neal, honey. He'll get through this."

Peter snorted. She had a point. Neal wouldn't die unless he had a say on the how, when, where, and by whose hand. He was surprised when that gave him a hint of hope.

"I just want him to be okay, El."

"I know. I know."

They waited for a while in silence until a man in scrubs came into the room. Peter and Elizabeth both stood up. The man nodded a greeting. "Hi. My name's Doctor Sean Willfred. So I hear you're Mr. Caffrey's partner in the F.B.I?"

"We're his family." Elizabeth cut in.

Peter just rolled his eyes when Mozzie seemingly came out of nowhere, skidded over to the Burkes, and added "Me too."

The doctor observed them. "Any chance of getting blood family here?" The three death glares he recieved were enough. "Alright, I can't tell you exact details, then, but I can tell you that the surgeons managed to get the bullet out of him. There will be some damage, we're not sure just how much there will be."

Peter's heart dropped yet again. "Mental, or...?"

The doctor shook his head. "More physical than anything. He may be confined to a wheelchair for a while."

Peter and Mozzie exchanged looks. They knew that Neal would be far from thrilled about that. However, it could be worse. Peter continued. "Anything else you can tell us?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm sorry, that's it, at least for now. We'll be sure to keep you posted."

"When can we see him?" Elizabeth asked the question weighing on all of their minds.

The doctor shrugged. "Tomorrow, if his condition gets better, if not... could be days. I'm sorry I can't be of more help again."

The three nodded, then watched him leave before exchanging looks. They all knew sleep was not going to be on the agenda that night.


	2. Nothing I Wanna Do but Make it Up to You

**A/N: A little heads up for one f-word used in the beginning of this chap. I kind of massacre the whole hospital feel as well, even if I've been in there more times than I'd like to admit. I even poke fun of my massacring it at one point. Anyway, hope you enjoy the second part. Sorry it took so long. The last couple of weeks have been really crappy for me between work, school and the death of a friend. Anyways, enjoy. **

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Four days. Peter had to wait four fucking days to so much as see Neal. Granted, many other families and friends waited longer, or there was no seeing their loved one after an accident like that, but it still got him right through the heart that he had to wait that long. He felt like he was betraying Neal by not being there, even if the man was probably still unconscious. That morning, Elizabeth was ready to question him about why he had gotten up at six a.m on his first day of the week vacation he had been forced to go on. Once she remembered why, she got up with him to help him get ready faster and have time for her to get ready as well to come with him. Within an hour, both of them were taken care of. However, after a few more minutes, she realized Peter was far too edgy to go anywhere, so she delayed the hospital visit for another hour. They reached the hospital around eight, and after a ten minute argument with a young nurse that Peter nearly killed for giving them wrong directions to Neal's room, they made it to their destination. Once the agent saw Neal in the hospital bed, the urge to vomit came back, but it dropped when he saw the young woman sitting in the corner of the room. He didn't recognize her at first, but when she faced him and smiled weakly, he did. It was one of the women they had helped with a previous case. It involved some painting, if he remembered correctly. Neal had verbally berated him the first night of the case when Peter told him he didn't understand the fuss over a painting that wasn't even that big. What was her name? Juliet? Julia?

The woman smiled. "Agent Burke. Hi."

Peter opened his mouth. "Oh, hi, um…" He wanted to kick himself. _You were supposed to work around the name if you didn't remember it. Not go "um" and leave it up in the air. _

"Don't worry about it, Agent Burke. I know you've had plenty of other case. I'm Julianna. You and Neal here helped me out with my-"

"Grandmother's painting, yes." Peter chuckled, then suddenly felt guilty he was laughing with his partner lying there a couple of feet away. "Sorry about the name thing. Call me Peter, by the way."

Julianna shook her head. "Alright, Peter, and like I said, I understand." She glanced at Elizabeth, who was waiting expectantly. "Who's this?"

Peter blinked, then realized who she was referring to. "Oh, right." Another nervous laugh. "Julianna, this is my wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, Julianna, one of the girls Neal and I helped out."

Elizabeth smiled. "Hi." She shook the other woman's hand, then shot Peter a look.

Peter frowned. "What?" He nodded at Neal. "She was more interested in him, so don't even go there!" He countered, almost reading his wife's thoughts.

Julianna smiled, once again weakly, then looked at Neal. "Actually, I kinda still am. Neal and I have gone out a couple of times."

Peter raised an eyebrow, wondering how that was even possible, but then he remembered the two or three times Neal hadn't been at his place, June's, or one of Mozzie's… wherever those were. Those must've been the times. "…Right." He had to yank his hand out of Elizabeth's grip, being that she had grabbed it when Julianna had said she and Neal had gone out, then had been digging her nails into his skin ever since. "So…"

"Damn, Peter. I knew you were bad at small talk, but this is just plain awful."

The women gasped at looked at Neal, who the comment had come from, but Peter was already at the man's side. Hell, he had bolted over by the time Neal had started to say the 'P' of his name.

"Neal!" Peter called, failing to keep the giant grin off of his face.

"Hi." Neal croaked, opening his eyes slowly. They fluttered closed a moment later, but Neal forced them open again. "Wherm'I?"

"Hospital." Peter replied.

Neal grunted a bit then settled back, raising his I.V-ed hand slightly to greet Elizabeth and Julianna. "Elizabeth, Jules."

While Julianna stayed back, Elizabeth let out a squeak before hurrying next to her husband and hugging Neal as best she could without interfering with the wound.

Neal let out a half cough, half laugh. "Love you too, Elizabeth, but can you let my breathe? How long have I been out?"

"Four and a half days. Jesus, Neal. You scared the shit out of us." Peter replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry I scared you after I took a bullet for you." Neal replied.

Peter went against rolling his eyes and just smiled, recognizing his friend's attitude. "Thank you, for that. Happy now?" He squeezed Neal's shoulder. "Good to have you back so soon."

Neal frowned. "It's not soon yet. The doctors'll probably want me in here for another month or something." He pointed at Peter. "Which means you're breaking me out like you did a while back."

Elizabeth frowned. "Wait, what?"

"Nothing." Peter said quickly. "And no, Neal. You need strength."

"I need a life… even the little scrap of one I have with you guys." He paused. "And the bigger one I have with Jules here."

Julianna licked her lips to keep from laughing.

Peter narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute, you little punk. You're talking a lot for someone who just got up. How long have you been up?"

Neal blinked. "Ten minutes?"

Peter's look of curiosity faded into one of expectant disbelief. "

Neal looked down guiltily. "… 'Bout seven hours. The male intern already hates me but the nurse digs me."

Julianna caught onto Peter's point. "So when I was talking to you, you heard everything?"

Neal smiled. "Hey, it could be worse. You coulda told me you loved me and wanted kids as opposed to just saying you missed me and hoped I got better."

"True." Julianna nodded.

A silence passed between the four. After having enough, Peter cleared his throat. "Um… you ladies mind if I talk to Neal alone for a bit?"

Elizabeth and Julianna exchanged looks, then shrugged. "Sure." "Okay. Play nice." They While Julianna kissed Neal's left cheek, Elizabeth kissed his right and stroked his hair. "If you need anything, you call me, okay, sweetheart?"

"I will, Mom." Neal grinned at her, then once they left, he looked at Peter. "What's up, Pete?"

Peter frowned. He didn't know why he had to make the mood go from light to serious, but… he had to know. He paced back and forth a couple of times, and when he saw Neal looked worried, he sat down and looked out the window.

"Peter? …You're scaring me, now. What is it?"

Peter finally looked at him. "I want to know why, Neal. Why?"

Neal frowned, knowing full well what his best friend was getting at. He sat up and looked Peter in the eye. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. After all the times, good and bad, you take a bullet for me? Why?"

Neal laughed disbelievingly, wincing when the action caused his midsection to move in a way that affected the wound. "The good times outweigh the bad! For an F.B.I agent, you really are dense."

"Neal."

" 'Cause I love you. You guys are my family. If something happened to you, I would die." Neal replied. "There you have it." He shrugged, putting his hands out as well.

Peter stared at him, then laughed weakly. "So you take the bullet meant for me? A little extreme, don't you think?"

"You realize who you're talking to, right?" The look of sheer honesty was gone and the Caffrey-smirk was back

Peter smiled once more. A bigger talk should (and he mentally guaranteed it would) come later on. Now he would let the young man rest, if the man would allow himself to do so. He patted Neal's knee affectionately. "You're alright, kid. You're all right kid. You're all right."

Neal beamed.

Figuring all that was needed to be said, at least for now, had been said, Peter reached for his coat. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"What? You? Staying home from work?" Neal mock-gasped.

Peter shot him a look. "Not my idea. Hughes forced me on vacation."

Neal beamed once more and swung his arm inward. "Good ole' Hughes!"

"Exactly." Peter nodded. "See ya, Neal." He headed out the door.

"Hey, wait! Pete!"

Peter poked his head back in the room. "What, Neal?"

Neal raised his eyebrows. "You do realize I'm going to use this against you any time I feel a guilt trip is needed, right?"

Peter smirked, rolled his eyes, and chuckled. He headed back out, letting the only thing still visible to Neal be his hand as he waved. "Night, Neal."

"Night, Partner."


End file.
